Truth & Rumors: Adam Scott ready to 'fire up' Presidents Cup team

Friday, August 19, 2011

Adam Scott would like to cap what has been a resurgent year for the No. 7-ranked Aussie with a win at the Presidents Cup in November. It will be a home game both for Scott and International captain Greg Norman—the matches will be played at Royal Melbourne—and Scott plans to take a proactive and vocal role to ensure the best results for his squad. Ben Everill at The Age has the scoop:

"I know Greg wasn't happy with losing last time and he's really going to want to win in front of our home fans. I'm ready to help him fire up the boys for sure.

"It makes a big impact, especially on the younger guys, if an older guy stands up and says how he feels, shows a bit of passion and makes it clear how much he wants it.Adam Scott is an older guy? Oy...

"Ernie [Els] did it for me in the past, and made it very clear that everyone wants it and we're not just there to slap it around for the week.

"Then you just have to go out and play hard, lead by example and just give the Americans nothing."The Internationals have won just one Presidents Cup in eight prior attempts. On the U.S. side, captain Fred Couples is very likely using one of his two wildcard picks on Tiger Woods. [See "Tweet of the Day" below.] That means that if the teams were picked today players like Zach Johnson, match-play machine Rickie Fowler, and PGA champ Keegan Bradley would all be jockeying for Couples’ other captain’s pick. (Check out the Presidents Cup point rankings for the U.S. team here.) Detroit and PGA Tour can't come to termsIn another blow to down-on-its-luck Detroit, General Motors’ mission to bring a Cadillac-sponsored Tour event to the Motor City has stalled. GM had been looking into bringing a tournament to Detroit Golf Club, a wonderful old-timey hangout just a few miles from downtown, reports The Detroit Free Press:

When no date on the tour schedule opened this year, Cadillac sought a date in 2012. But finding a date on the tour’s schedule during Michigan's few dependably warm months proved too difficult, according to a person familiar with the situation.

A potential opening on the tour's schedule closed when the Heritage, a longtime tour stop in Hilton Head, S.C., found a new sponsor in Royal Bank of Canada, signing a five-year deal in June. A 67—with borrowed clubs!Next time you try to blame your poor play on rental clubs, consider the plight of Pedro Oriol, who after his clubs were lost in transit en route to the Czech Open, was forced to play with loaners. The result? A cool first-round 67 that left the Spaniard a shot off the lead.

"I'm not sure I'm going to switch back to my own clubs now even if they arrive," the 25-year-old Oriol told reporters.

"I was worried about my round because even though I practiced very hard for the past two weeks my confidence has been quite low ... but then I go and shoot a 67 which just goes to show what a crazy game golf is." Long-putter sales still slow (for now)Long putters have been all the rage this summer, what with Adam Scott’s torrid play and now Keegan Bradley’s theatrics at the PGA Championship; both players wield broomsticks. ("Personally, I think that it's an easier way to putt," Bradley said. "Especially when there's some nerves. It's just very, very comfortable for me.") Still, those successes haven’t translated into big sales for manufacturers, at least not yet, reports Edgar Thompson of The Palm Beach Post:

Consumer sales have picked up a bit this summer, said Danny Germaine, manager of Edwin Watts Golf in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and one of the top amateurs in the area. But he said just one in 25 putters sold are long putters, which are produced by most major manufacturers and cost between $30 and $50 more.Look for sales to pick up. Now that two of the coolest cats on Tour have won with long putters, you and your golf buds should no longer feel sheepish about toting a flatstick that barely fits in your trunk. Tweet of the day From Ryder Cup captain extraordinaire Paul Azinger...